Can-opener.



A A. P. FITZ GERALD.

GAN OPENER. APPLICATION FILED vJUNE 1l 1908.

923,349. l Patented Juue1,1909.

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CAN-OPENER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUSTINE F. Firz GERALD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in the city of New Yor i, borough of Brooklyn, countyof Kings, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulCan-Opener, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a can opener, particularly adapted to cut off the topof a can, by cutting around the body of the can and close to the topthereof, but it is also adapted to cut an opening in the top of a can,and particularly an opening in the top of a can which is substantiallysquare or rectangular in cross section.

A salient feature of the invention is the ease with which the opener maybe operated, and this particular function is accomplished by a pivotedknife, of novel construction, so positioned for operation as to utilizethe power applied to the cutter to the best advantage.

Vhere the contents of a can are integral, as is usually the case withpuddings and various other canned articles, and it is desired to removethe contents bodily, it cannot be done with the form of can openerordinarily employed for the reason that the diameter of the opening madein the top of the can thereby, is considerably smaller than the diameterof the can.

The present invention is simple and durable in construction, efficientin operation, economical to manufacture, and, in actual practice, hasbeen shown to possess unusual merit and utility.

ln the accompanying` drawings, l have illustrated one practicalembodiment of the invention, but the construction shown therein is to beunderstood as illustrative, only, and not as deiining the limits of theinvention.

Figure l is a plan view of the device showing a can in position to beopened; Fig. 2 is a artial cross section of the device, on an enargedscale, on line 2 2 in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a view from the und er side ofthe device, showing the knife in position to operate on the top of a cang Fig. 4 is a side view of the device shown in Fig. 2, but in normalposition; and Fig. 5 is a view, partly in cross section, taken on line 55 in Fig. 3.

A is the body portion of the can opener, preferably skeletonized asshown, and it may Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed I une 1, 1908.

Patented .Tune 1, 1909.

Serial No. 435,935.

be provided with a depressed or off-set member, a, having dovetailedslot, t, or equivalent construction. It will be obvious that the memberc, need not be depressed, but may occupy the same plane as the remainderof the body portion, Near one end of the member, d, is a knife orcutter, B, pivoted thereto through the medium of a depending stud, c,the knife being secured in position thereon by a nut, d.

The knife, B. has a pointed or toe end, e, and a heel portion, f, and ispreferably provided with a handle, g, cast or forged therewith, thoughit may be made separate and secured thereto in any well known manner.The knife is provided with a perforation, z, located at the toe endthereof, whereby the knife may be readily slipped into cutting po`sition on the depending stud, c, or the laterally projecting stud, i.The knife is preferably provided with a beveled cutting edge as shown atn (Fig. 1).

The dovetailed slot, b, in member, a., is enlarged at one end, as shownat j, to permit the introduction therein of a nut, 7c, also preferablydovetailed, which is slidable in said slot but prevented from fallingout of it by virtue of the respective shapes of the slot and nut. Athumb screw, (l, having a depending screw, l, provided with a sharppoint, takes into the nut, la, so that the several parts may be adjustedto any desired position lengthwise of the slot, b, (in order toaccommodate cans of different sizes), and then secured in such positionby turning down the thumb screw.

A cylindrical can, D, is shown in plan view in Fig. 1, and in Fig. 2,partly in sectional elevation, positioned so as to have its top cut offupon the operation of the cutter.

In Figs. 3 and e, a can, E, rectangular or polygonal in horizontal crosssection, is

shown in plan and elevation, respectively, positioned so as to have anopening made in its top upon the operation of the cutter.

ln operating the opener to out oif the top of a can, the opener and canare positioned as shown in Figs. l and 3 the thumb screw, C, having beenadjusted centrally of the top of the can, the can is perforated byinserting the sharp point of the screw, Z; thereupon the cutter, B, isoperated through the medium of the handle, g, the point, c, of thecutter first perforating the side of the can, which is done withcomparatively slight pressure owing to the large leverage at which thecutter' is op erated, after which a cutis made as indicated in dottedlines in Fig. l thereafter, by move ing the can relatively to themember, a, or by rotating member, a, on the axis of the screw, l,additional cuts may be made until the can is cut completely around. Thefirst perforation of cutter, B, is made just to the side of the verticalseam of the can corresponding to the direction in which the cut is to bemade.

in operating the opener to produce an opening in the top of a can, thethumb screw, C, carrying screw, Z, is removed from the opener, theknife, B, is taken off stud, c, by unscrewing nut, d, slipped onto stud,fi, and the body portion of the opener inverted and placed in positionon the can as shown in Fig. 3; upon operating the cutter, the toe endfirst perforates the top of the can and a further movement of the cutterbrings it into the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4, one side ofthe body portion, A, serving to guide the cutter in a vertical path bychanging the positionof the opener, additional cuts may be made asdesired.

lt will be observed, therefore, that the new opener is simple inconstruction, easy and expeditious in its operation, and embodies adevice readily adapted to operate either on the side or top of a can.

It will be manifest that the body portion of the opener may be made outof any suitable material, such as wood or metal, though, for strengthand economy, it will be preferably cast from iron.

It will be obvious, moreover, that slight changes may be made in thespecific construction of the opener described, such as the substitutionof equivalents, without departing from the spirit or substance of theinvention.

Having thus fully described the invention, what claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A can opener provided with a body portion., means for securing saidbody portion in various positions on the can, and a cutter carried bythe body portion and provided with a cutting edge operable in a planeparallel to the plane of said body portion and below the top surface ofa can whereby the can body may be severed just below the top ofthe can.

2. A can opener provided with a body portion, means for positioning saidbody portion on a can whereby said body portion may be shifted intovarious positions on the can, a stud depending from said body portion,and a cutter pivoted to said stud for movement in a plane parallel tothe plane of the body portion and adapted to sever the body 0f said -canfor the purpose of removing the top therefrom Without cutting` said top.

3. A can opener provided with a body portion and means for securing acutter thereto in a plane parallel to the plane of the body portion, andmeans for securing a cutter thereto in a plane substantially at rightangles to the plane of said body portion.

4. A can opener provided with a body portion, said body having a studextending away from and having its axis substantially at rightangles tothe plane of said body, a second stud extending away from said body andhaving its axis in a plane parallel to the plane ofthe body, and a knifeadapted to be pivotally secured to either of said studs.

5. A can opener provided with a body portion, said body having a studextending away from and having its axis substantially at Vright anglesto the plane of said body, a second stud extending away from said bodyand having its axis in a plane parallel to the plane of the body, and aknife having a toe end and a heel end and adapted to be pivotallysecured at its toe end to either of said studs.

6. A can opener having a slotted body portion, a can perforating memberadjustable within said slot and a cutter pivoted to said body portionand operable in a plane at right angles to the plane in which the axisof the perforating member is located.

7. A can opener having a slotted body portion, a can perforating memberadjustable within said slot and extending downwardly from the bodyportion, a cutter, and means positioned on said body portion forpivotally securing said cutter to the body portion whereby the cutter isadapted to operate in either a plane at right angles to the axis of theperforating member or in a plane parallel to said axis.

8. A can opener provided with a body portion, a member dependingtherefrom and adapted to pierce the top of a can so as to rotatablysecure said body portion in position on the can, and a cutter pivoted tosaid body portion separately from the depending inember, said cutterbeing provided with a cutting edge operable in a plane parallel to theplane of said body portion and below the top of the can whereby the bodyof the can may be severed below the top thereof.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUSTINE F. FITZ GERALD.

Witnesses:

JAs. H. GRIFFIN, H. I. BERNHARD.

